For 2Q14, worldwide smartphone shipments are expected to benefit further
from the continuously rising market demand, and jump by 6.7% QoQ to
284.5 million units. As a growing number of major smartphone brands are
expected to release their flagship phones before the next-generation
iPhones appear, both the shipment volumes and average selling prices of
high-end smartphones can be expected to remain stable, and in turn
enable various smartphone manufacturers to stay profitable within the
industry. The smartphone shipments from the Chinese regions, as before,
are projected to exceed the industry average, but the overall growth is
expected to slow down. For 2Q14, China's smartphone shipment growth is
estimated at approximately 13.76% QoQ.

Looking at 1Q14 smartphone brand ranking, Samsung managed to claim first
place with a worldwide market share of over 30%, due to its low- to
mid-ranged smartphone shipments. Apple's new iPhones and shipment
momentum are not expected to appear until the second half of 2014, hence
the company experienced a noticeable decline in its worldwide market
share and finished in second. Chinese smartphone makers, notably, showed
better than expected performances compared to traditionally strong
global brands, with companies such as Huawei, Lenovo (excluding
contribution from Motorola), and Xiaomi all experiencing quarterly
growth of more than 20%. As noted by Wu, all three of the Chinese
companies share a notable tendency to use high C/P value devices to
stimulate momentum in different business sectors, including those
typically characterized by hardware and software integration, different
types of ecosystems (i.e. TVs, servers, PCs), and long-term e-commerce
development. By utilizing appropriate strategies, the three Chinese
companies managed to improve their shipments significantly in only a
matter of years, and were able to lead their competitors in terms of
economies of scale.